Resurgent far-right conjures Austria-Hungary headache for EU on Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Austrian head of Freedom Party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl delivers a speech during the final EU election rally in Vienna, Austria, June 7, 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo

VIENNA (Reuters) - The far-right favourites to win Austria's next election have forged an alliance with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban that could deepen defiance of Brussels and threaten already fragile consensus over the Ukraine war if they take power.

Orban, prime minister of Austria's old imperial partner and an ally of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, has often blocked or delayed major European Union decisions such as sanctions against Russia and aid for Ukraine, wringing concessions from the bloc in the process.